Pope urges peace in Mexico's poor, violent corners

MEXICO CITY, Feb 13 (Reuters) - From the U.S. border to the
indigenous south, Pope Francis will visit some of the poorest
and most violent corners of Mexico on his five-day trip and
celebrates Mass on Saturday before an image of the country's
patroness, the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Chronic violence and corruption will be themes of his visit
to the world's second most populous Roman Catholic country, and
he will address the plight of migrants trying to reach the
United States with a service at the northern border next week.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to join the
pope on Saturday afternoon at the Basilica of Our Lady of
Guadalupe, where pilgrims flock from all over Latin America.

"'Don't be afraid,' that is what she tells me," Pope Francis
said ahead of his visit, adding that he wanted to reflect
silently in front of her image.

The pope earlier this month urged Mexicans to fight against
corruption and grisly drug gang violence. Some Mexicans are
looking to him to take that even further while he's here.

"We want him to demand that the president kick out all the
corrupt people," said Marbella Vargas, whose son Edgar was one
of 43 students abducted and apparently massacred in 2014, a
grisly case that hammered the government's reputation.

Mexico has been ravaged by drug violence over the past
decade, and President Enrique Pena Nieto has been unable to
fulfill his promises to put an end to it.

Francis flew into Mexico City on Friday evening for his
first visit as leader of the Catholic Church, greeted by
cheering crowds, a mariachi band and Pena Nieto.

During his visit, the pope will say Mass with indigenous
communities in Mexico's poorest state Chiapas, and speak with
young people in Morelia, the capital of Michoacan state that has
been plagued by violence between drug gangs and armed vigilante
groups.

More than 100,000 people have been killed in Mexico's drug
violence over the last decade and some 26,000 are missing.

The pope's trip will end with a prison visit and Mass in the
notorious northern border city of Ciudad Juarez, where he will
meet relatives of victims of violence.

In a reminder of Mexico's corruption and violence, 49 people
were killed in a fight between rival gangs in a prison just days
before the pope's arrival.

There has been speculation that the pope might also meet
with relatives of the 43 missing students.

Francis has won plaudits for his leadership of the Church
over the last three years but in Mexico he may struggle to match
the lasting appeal of Pope John Paul II, who made multiple
visits to the country.

More than half of those polled by newspaper Reforma last
month said they identified most with John Paul II, versus 14
percent for Francis.
(With reporting by Christine Murray, Anahi Rama and Lizbeth
Diaz; Editing by Michael O'Boyle and Kieran Murray)